Interview by Chris Johnson for Flat Response Sound

Sunday February 1, 2009

Mecca is the holiest city and focal point of prayer for all followers of Islam.  Once a year, able Muslims journey to the Saudi Arabian city to fulfill one of the five duties required of them.  It is also a time when tribal disputes are put aside, debts are resolved, and the trading of goods occurs.  It also happen to be the name of Office's follow-up to 2005's "Q&A", an independently released pop gem that brought the Chicago group national attention.  Over the next four years, Office would play both SXSW and Lollapalooza twice, have a brief stint with Scratchie Records, and tour parts of  the U.S.  Flat Response Sound recently e-mailed founder and frontman Scott Masson to ask him about "Mecca", songwriting, the future of the group, and why he decided to release this masterpiece for free.

CJ: How did you decide on naming the album "Mecca"?

SM: Saw the word written on a drawing done by Tommy Smith, and it looked good on paper.  I think he suggested naming the record "Mecca".  Sounded pretty big, which worked well with the production aesthetic.  After this idea came up, we started bringing in some of these west vs. east / Christian vs. Muslim concerns.  It seemed appropriate, as long as we kept it open to interpretation.  None of us had any opinion on the word.  It's not a political record at all (gross!), but there is a bit of a journey or pilgrimage taking place, personal / collective discovery, and a possible connection to other areas of the world.  I could go deeper, but I'd sound super pretentious.  Mecca was a good place for this lil' chapter in OFFICE's history to end, and an ideal place to start anew.  

CJ:  You released the record as a free download.  What prompted you to do this?

SM: It was an act of volunteerism in an effort to wipe the slate clean, and to share music with people while it was still fresh.  I thought it was a neat experiment, and a gut instinct. Everybody involved reacted differently too, which was pretty awesome.  Two people were elated by the release, one was furious and contentious, another was completely silent, and one was indifferent, but most likely very happy that it got out there.  There was an innocence and spontaneity in the way I used to work that was missing for the past few years.  It was very important to remember what it was like to achieve satisfactory results in the studio with friends, and immediately share the songs with the public.  I'm really happy that a label (TBA) is now going to release the official versions of "Mecca" on vinyl, yet still allow me to keep the recordings available for free on the internet.  There are new ways of making music available these days, so you have to remain open-minded.  Just dive in, and get the music out there.       

CJ:  Lyrically, songs like "Sticky Dew" and "Nobody Knows You" sound almost like a document of your experiences on the road.  How much did your jaunts around the States influence your writing this time out?

SM: It's hard to say.  Most of this stuff was written before OFFICE toured, since I had been writing songs steadily since Q&A's release.  The human mind can do the traveling for you in most cases.  There is a decent amount of road imagery on this album, I guess. "Sticky Dew" was influenced by my time spent in NYC, preparing the recordings that ended up on A Night At The Ritz.  I was homeless for over a month, and strung out.  Sometimes I'd just have to walk around Brooklyn or Chelsea until the sun came up, and then go back to the studio when it re-opened.  I'd wake up on park benches with my suitcase underneath my head, and pigeons at my feet.  Two hours later, I'm in studio A, and Yoko Ono is in studio B, fantastically twittering away on a mic:  "Yeeeeowwwwowowowowow-wehehehehehe!".  "Nobody Knows You" is a folk song about bar stars and socialites.  I know a lot of 'em.  Quite often, these songs just figure themselves out years after you write them.  I'm a firm believer in craft and revisionism, but I'm also a practitioner of knowing when to just let the interpretations fall where they may.  A strange balance of soul, intellect, dreams and experience, man.  Oh, man.  Oh.....              

CJ:  Of all the songs on the album, was there one in particular that was the most challenging to write or record?

SM: Naw.  They were all pretty easy to write and record.  There's a luxury that falls into place when you finally learn recording equipment.  Music rolls through very quickly, and modern equipment is surprisingly convenient and better able to keep up with the rapid flow of ideas.  I used to record a lot of 7inches and LPs back in the 90s with my old band, and you'd fill up reels of tape just trying to find the perfect "take".  The musicians on Mecca were all great players, which made this recording process a breeze.  My other friends on the record came in and did a great job, and helped break up the monotony, while providing inspiration.  As the producer and writer, I just manipulated the sounds and orchestration.  I always have to edit the sounds quite a bit, do a lot of over-dubs, but that's a pleasant exercise.  No matter what quality the equipment is that's at my disposal, I enjoy pushing it to the limit.  Recording always carries a new challenge, but it's a wonderful thing to put your brain through.  One day, I hope to not have to play any instruments on an OFFICE record, and just let other people do all the playing.  

CJ:  It sounds like Dr. Drako has been a problem.  Have you continued seeing him, or have you gotten a second opinion?

SM: Eh.....he's everywhere, man.  Dr. Drako leaves me alone these days, however.  He only tackles the vulnerable, or attention-seeking.  If you avoid phone calls, and don't put any major pressure on yourself to be commercially viable in the eyes and ears of the outside world, and just focus on writing good music in peace and quiet, Dr. Drako won't mess with you.         

CJ:  Fans looking at your Wikipedia page will notice that you are currently listed as the only member of Office.  What happened?

SM: I relocated to Michigan, and some people quit, which happens a lot.  I'm pretty used to it at this point.  There's been 30 people involved with OFFICE thus far, and I'm hoping to get it up to around 75 by the year 2012.             

CJ:  Let's move on to songwriting.  When in the writing process do you feel it's time to commit to tape?

SM: As early as possible.  That being said, it's also very important to make sure the recording is done as carefully as possible....because that recording is how the song will be represented throughout history, after you're dead or washed-up.  Lots of layers are included in these OFFICE recordings.  You can still make it raw and soulful through time and dedication.  The Clash held that great balance, because they had a ton of craft, wrote great songs and lyrics, had inspired energy, and they spent quality time making sure their recordings were at least semi-solid.  Same thing with The Beatles later era.  It's important to refrain from letting a song linger on too long before it's recorded.  You run the risk of having it become flat and rehearsed.  Vapid. Personally, I prefer to record as a I write the song, or immediately after the composition is finished, because you can hear how the orchestration sounds right away, and the revision process moves a lot faster.  A certain disciplined pace can force you to make thoughtful decisions, and not allow yourself to become too self-indulgent, or other-think anything. Recording is like cramming for an exam.  This philosophy doesn't always work, but usually the most inspired recordings are the first or second takes.  "Enter Me, Exit You" is a first-take "demo", which would explain the immediacy of the recording.  I might have been able to make things sound better sonically, but the spirit was captured the first time around.  You shouldn't mess with something that already works either.  I come from the older approach.  I like faster-moving machinery, and immediately moving on from the material the moment it's recorded. 

CJ:  At some point, every artist hit's the proverbial "wall."  What do you do to either avoid or break through the dreaded writer's block?

SM: I have some drinks, immerse myself in conversation, listen to people talk, go jogging, read, break some stuff, peak off the edge, branch out and meet new people, make some mistakes, fixate myself on an idea, think of multiple ways to approach one subject, travel around, listen to the classics, steal from other artists, provoke the bogus, impose on the impostors, and ask questions.  Eventually, new material just falls into my lap.  The world is an endless supply of information, so I don't believe in writer's block.  I think that's code for laziness.  There are periods when I'm not writing or recording, but that's a very conscious choice.  It's called "research".  If you don't experience life, then you'll never have anything honest to write about.        

CJ:  On the other side of coin, sometimes songs seem to write themselves.  Have you ever had that experience?  If so, which of your songs seemed like a race against time to capture?

SM: Yeah....the best songs I write are the ones that write themselves.  This is one of the reasons why I'm not really cut out for a collaborative band experience.  Waiting around for everyone's schedule / circadian rhythm to match up with mine makes for a smaller, slower output.  That has been a gift and a curse in my life, honestly.  The ideas came very fast for "Trainwreck DJs", and I could barely keep up with the recording of it.  I remember coming into the studio one day with a basic concept on the piano, pressed record, had a full day of building it up with countless instruments by myself, wrote the vocals the next day, chopped it up and edited it, and then had my drunk friends sing on it that night.  Not even 36 hours after I started it, an epic song was finished!   When I'm working with other people, I prefer specific parts as opposed to the entire product.  For example, I really love Tom's playing on "Ridiculous Plans", "Aphrodisiac Missiles", and "The Silent Parade".  The parts that he put on those tunes are better than anything I could ever do on the guitar, because I just don't think like that.  I'm not as good as he is on the guitar.  Colin's bass playing on "Sleepwalking" and "Everything You've Witnessed" stands out to me as well.  A bass line can make or break a production.  Sara Jean Stevens took "Ridiculous Plans" to another level, even though her collaboration period was brief.  I don't even have to talk about Erica's drums, since they're perfect.   

CJ:  If you went through your entire catalog, which song do you feel is the most personal or most revealing about you?

SM: None of them.  I try and only hint at who I am in the songs, since I write from my perspective.  It'd be a really boring song if I talked about myself.  "Suburban Perfume", "Paralyzed Prince", "Possibilities", and "Plus/Minus Fairytale" have elements of stuff I've witnessed.  Those were all on The Ritz or Q&A album.  Every song has a bit of me in it, but I prefer to talk about the world around me instead.  The bigger picture, as well as the interaction between folks, is much more interesting than one guy's battle with himself.  

CJ:  If you could man the boards for any artist, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you like to see happen?

SM: Ken Griffin.  Song-writer and producer for 90s underground legends Rollerskate Skinny and currently, Favourite Sons.  He's still alive, and living in Brooklyn.  I'm gonna ask him to work with me on a tune for the new OFFICE record, but I'm going to have him man the boards.  I feel like I understand that guy's music very well, as it's had a profound impact on my life since the mid-90s.  I find him fascinating, and a super funny guy.  OFFICE was fortunate enough to play a show with him last year, and I hung out with him for a couple days.  He's got a great perspective on everything.  Real on a level very few people are on.  Might I add, he is more genuine than any musician I've ever met.  I've blatantly stolen some of his production ideas, and I'm forever in debt for his influence.            

CJ:  As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?  And, if you ceased to be a musician, what could you see yourself doing?

SM: A marine biologist.  I was fascinated with all aquatic environments, plankton, seaweed, kelp, and sharks.  If I ever cease to be a musician, I want to be a pastry chef, or work on a vineyard in northern California.....with all those wild folks up there.    

CJ:  Overall, what would you like people to walk away with after listening to an Office record?

SM: Voices in their head.   

CJ:  Now that the songs are out and available, are you taking a break from writing and recording or are you always working on something?

SM: No.  I'll never take a break.  Well into the making of another album, but this one consists of sounds I have little experience with.  If I'm not making music, I'm diving head-first into life, making visual art, or working my day job.  From now on, however, I prefer to work in an environment that is quiet and focussed.  Since I moved out of Chicago, there has been no drama in my life.  It's lovely.  The creative process runs smoother and faster, and the business end of things is much more efficient.  

CJ:  Finally, where would you like to take Office next?

SM: Musically, I feel I'm about to branch out into some things that are kinda wild and bizarre.  Maybe I'm wrong.  Since I've recently been referred to as "megalomaniacal" by a couple pals on the internet, I thought it would be funny to show how mystified I am by my own process, and how little I actually know about anything, or how little I care about the politics of the past.  I've already achieved more success than I ever thought would come my way.  I'm grateful for the past, and very excited to just keep the future focussed on the music.  There are a few songs on Mecca that hint at the next logical step. Being 30, you wake up and realize that you need to stop worrying about a being cool, being wrapped up in public plans, or consensus, and just sing what comes natural.  The lifestyle of rock and roll is lame and extinct.  I've written so many songs at this point, made so many records, that now I just want to focus on challenging myself, and age with some dignity and grace.  I've been on FM radio, satellite radio, MTV, had my recordings played in restaurants and clothing boutiques all over the country, performed at giant festivals, had a couple underground hits, viral videos, hung with rockstars, got fucked up, made a lot of friends, played into the whole "next big thing", been in every magazine, had the ABC licensing deals, other corporate licensing deals, got the $100,000 advance, toured, etc.  Now I'm in Michigan by choice, saving money, paying off debts, living in my parents' basement, and working with The Quakers on causes that benefit the GLBT community.  If that sounds megalomaniacal, then please put a gun to my head.  I want to tell my friends who are entering the music business to be careful, and mindful of the shallow sharks who circle along the shore.  Nothing beats working in the studio, and playing gigs when it feels right.  Hide out, drop out, and make music that adds to the world.  I'm a survivor, and I plan on keeping it that way.  Surviving is the only goal for OFFICE.